One year on from Team Scotland’s record medal tally for an overseas Games at Gold Coast 2018, we look back at a brilliant 11 days of Scottish success, full of standout moments and memories to last a lifetime.

Participating in all 18 sports on the programme, the team smashed their pre-Games medal target of 29, climbing onto the podium an incredible 44 times, winning 9 gold, 13 silver and 22 bronze. There were also many ground breaking performances throughout the 11 days of thrilling sporting action down under and here are just some of the highlights.

The scene was set from the Opening Ceremony, where multiple Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth medal winning athlete, Eilidh Doyle, nominated by her fellow athletes, led Scotland into the Carrara Stadium – the first female athlete ever to do so.

At 224 athletes, this was the biggest team Scotland had ever sent to an away Games and included a record 93 women. There were also 18 Para-Sport athletes, competing in six of the seven disciplines, as Gold Coast hosted the biggest ever Para-Sport programme with 38 medal events.

Marc Austin took the first Scottish medal of the Games and a first ever Triathlon medal for Scotland, putting in an inspirational performance to claim bronze in the Men’s Individual event, ahead of World and Olympic medallists Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee. Beth Potter became the first athlete to compete in two sports for Team Scotland at a single Games, competing in the Triathlon individual event and team relay, before going on to compete on the track in the 10,000m.

The first gold of the Games came from Para-Cycling duo Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham, as they carved almost two seconds off the previous Games record in the 1000m Time Trial on the opening night in the velodrome. The pair went on to win a second gold in the Sprint, breaking the World Record in qualifying. It sparked a medal rush as eight cyclists claimed 10 medals between them, including four gold, with Mark Stewart in the Points Race and Katie Archibald in the Individual Pursuit the other athletes to top the podium.

There were also medals for Neah Evans, Jack Carlin and Callum Skinner, whilst it was a family affair for the Archibalds as Katie’s brother John took silver in the Men’s Individual Pursuit – the pair becoming the first brother and sister to win Commonwealth Games medals for Scotland on the same day.

Aquatics won the most medals with 11 – 2 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze. Duncan Scott was the star of the pool as he racked up six medals, including a first ever gold for Scotland in the 100m Freestyle. Hannah Miley took a third successive medal in the 400m Individual Medley, silver this time to add to the golds in Delhi and Glasgow, while fellow defending champion from 2014, Ross Murdoch also had to settle for silver in the 200m Breaststroke. There was a silver for Mark Szaranek in the men’s 400m Individual Medley as well as relay medals in the men’s 4x100m and 4x200m Freestyle.

The divers continued where the swimmers left off, with James Heatly winning 1m Springboard bronze, Scotland’s first Diving medal for 60 years, the last being won by his grandfather, Sir Peter Heatly at the 1958 Cardiff Games. This was swiftly followed by Grace Reid taking gold in the same event to become the first female Scottish diver to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.

It was an incredible performance from Scotland’s bowlers on the hard baked greens at Broadbeach, with all 10 returning home with medals. There were first ever medals for both men and women’s Triples, as they steadily accumulated two gold, two silver and a bronze, to become the most successful nation of all-time in Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls.

Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver, both making their Games debut, were double gold medallists in the Triples and Fours. Competing at his sixth Commonwealth Games, Alex Marshall won gold in the Fours and silver in the Pairs to take his career tally to five gold and one silver and become Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete of all time, with teammate Paul Foster only just behind him with four gold and a silver, moving up to third on the all-time list.

Also making his sixth Games appearance, shooter Ian Shaw took bronze in the Queen’s Prize Pairs alongside Games debutant, Sandy Walker, while David McMath, competing at his first Games, took Scotland’s first ever individual gold in the Men’s Double Trap, setting a Games record in the final. Seonaid McIntosh added to her family’s Commonwealth Games legacy, with two bronze medals in the rifle events. A fourth Commonwealth Games medal and first in an individual event for Neil Stirton with silver in the 50m Rifle Prone and a first Games medal for Linda Pearson, with bronze in the Women’s Double Trap, rounded out a successful Games on the range up in Brisbane.

Basketball made a return to the Games after a 12 year absence and the nation was gripped by the heroics of the team. The only team without a FIBA ranking, they defied pre-Games expectations to remain undefeated until the semi-finals, eventually finishing fourth, the best ever result at a Games by a Scottish team sport.

Having won their first ever Team Event medal at Glasgow 2014, Scotland’s gymnasts followed up with their second – the men winning bronze, despite the loss of Kelvin Cham through injury. Veterans of the 2014 team, Daniel Purvis and Frank Baines then went on to win individual bronze on Floor and Parallel Bars respectively.

There was a ‘first’ too for Beach Volleyball, as the sport made its Commonwealth Games debut against the stunning ocean backdrop down at Coolangatta. Both Scotland’s men’s and women’s pairs acquitted themselves strongly against world ranked opposition, reaching the quarter-finals.

Boxing maintained their impressive record of at least one medal at every Games, with John Docherty and Reece McFadden both winning bronze. There was another first for Team Scotland, with two female boxers, Vicky Glover and Megan Gordon, taking to the ring.

Micky Yule just missed a medal coming fourth in Para-Powerlifting, while Lisa Tobias set new Scottish records in the Weightlifting 48kg category. Netball finished in ninth place, a narrow loss in a thrilling game with Malawi proving critical, while Table Tennis reached the last 16 of the team event. There were tough draws for both Wrestling and Rugby 7s, with the latter missing out to World Champions South Africa, with just one from each pool to go through to medal matches. In Squash the Men’s Doubles just fell short, reaching the bronze medal match for the third successive Games.

The final day of competition saw Kirsty Gilmour collect her second Badminton Singles medal in succession. She added bronze to her Glasgow 2014 silver, turning the tables on 2014 gold medallist, Michelle Li of Canada.

With five medals, Athletics celebrated their biggest medal tally since 1990. Hammer thrower Mark Dry led the way, replicating his bronze medal winning feat from Glasgow 2014 with his final throw. Flag bearer Eilidh Doyle took a third successive silver medal over the 400m Hurdles, while there was also silver for 18-year-old Maria Lyle in the Para-Sport T35 100m.

Jake Wightman was the final medallist on the track, bouncing back from the agony of a fourth place finish in the 1500m, with bronze in the 800m. However, there was final day drama and contrasting fortunes for Scotland’s two Marathon men. There was on outpouring of concern and well wishes for longtime leader Callum Hawkins, as he succumbed to the heat with just a mile to go, while team mate Robbie Simpson came through for bronze and Team Scotland’s final medal of the Games.

And so to the Closing Ceremony, where the most successful Scottish athlete at a single Games, swimmer Duncan Scott, was chosen to carry the flag for Scotland in recognition of his outstanding achievement.

One year on, whilst the memories of a fantastic Commonwealth Games for Scotland on the Gold Coast are still fresh, attention has quickly turned to Birmingham 2022, the next Games hosts. Team Scotland will once again anticipate a strong performance in 2022 across all the sports and in particular welcoming the return of Judo to the programme, a sport in which Scotland performed so well in 2014.

Reflecting on the advantages of a UK based Games in the normal summer competition period, Commonwealth Games Scotland CEO, Jon Doig OBE said: “With Team Scotland success at the Commonwealth Games being so important to Scotland, our planning will once again be rigorous, to ensure nothing is left to chance and that we can build on the success of Gold Coast.

“From what we have seen so far, Birmingham will be great hosts and with the city’s close proximity, we anticipate a great travelling support roaring the team on. We look forward to working closely with our partners and supporters in Scotland and in Birmingham to ensure we deliver a performance that makes the country proud once again.”

While Fencing has not been included in the Commonwealth Games since 1970, it was one of Scotland’s most successful sports during its 20 years in the Games. This success has continued with Scottish fencers making their mark on the global stage, including at the Commonwealth Championships.  To round off our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, here are 12 things you might not know about the sport:

1. There are three disciplines within Fencing – Foil, Epee and Sabre – which all have different rules and scoring areas.

2. Fencing was first included in the Commonwealth Games in 1950 and was included in every Games over a 20 year period, with Edinburgh 1970 the last Games for Fencing to date. Scottish fencers won a total of eight Commonwealth Games medals over this time: two gold, four silver and two bronze.

3. Alexander (Sandy) Leckie is Scotland’s top Commonwealth Games fencer with two gold and two silver medals between 1962 and 1970. He remains Scotland’s only Commonwealth Games fencing gold medallist. He also competed at three Olympic Games, making the last 16 in 1968.

4. Since the change of Fencing from a core sport to an optional sport at the Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth Fencing Championships have been held every four years on the same cycle as the Commonwealth Games.

5. Scottish fencers have continued to enjoy medal success, winning 10 gold, 25 silver and 33 bronze since the Championships began in 1974.

6. Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Championships to date was in 2014 where the team won 11 medals including three gold: Jamie Fitzgerald in Men’s Foil, Georgina Usher in Women’s Epee and the Women’s Sabre team of Alice Watson, Jennifer Sancroft, Michelle Guarino, Kate Daykin and Jessica Corby.

7. Fencing is one of only five sports to be included at every Olympic Games since 1896, the others are Swimming, Cycling, Athletics and Gymnastics.

8. Women have competed in Fencing at the Olympic Games since 1924, with Foil originally the only weapon available. Women’s Epee was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games and Sabre not until Athens 2004.

9. The first international Wheelchair Fencing tournament took place in the 1950s and the sport has been a part of the Paralympic Games since 1960. All three disciplines are contested.

10. There was originally no time limit on a fencing bout, until a Masters Championship bout in New York in the 1930s lasted for seven hours. Thereafter, bouts were limited to 30 minutes. Today, the time-limit has been reduced to just 3 minutes for 5-touch bouts and 9 minutes for 15 touches.

11. Fencers wear white uniforms because before the advent of electronic scoring, touches were recorded on the white surface with a wad of ink-soaked cotton on the tips of the weapons. Electronic scoring was first introduced in 1935 for Epee, 1955 for Foil and was first used at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games for Sabre.

12. In February 2019 the French Fencing Federation recognised lightsabre duelling as an official sport for the first time.

Team Scotland athletes past, present and future gathered in Stirling today (Thursday 28 March) to celebrate an incredible 30 years of the Team Scotland Youth Trust.

Since 1989, the Team Scotland Youth Trust has supported aspiring young Scottish athletes through scholarships and awards, with many past beneficiaries going on to win Commonwealth, Olympic, World and European medals. These have included several stars of Team Scotland’s recent Games success, such as boxer Charlie Flynn, badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, shooter Jennifer McIntosh, swimmer Craig Benson and hurdler Eilidh Doyle.

To date more than £500,000 has been distributed to athletes across several strands. These include the PHM Athlete Award, which provides individual awards of up to £1000 to aspiring athletes under the age of 26, scholarships to student athletes studying at the University of Stirling (home of Team Scotland) and the Achieve Programme run up to and during the Commonwealth Games to give potential future members of Team Scotland a mentored, behind the scenes experience of the Games.

Current recipients of the PHM Athlete Award, which is administered by the Youth Trust, were joined today by benefactor Paul Morron along with a number of athletes who have benefitted from Youth Trust support over the past three decades.

Among the 18 current recipients of the PHM Athlete Award are Gold Coast 2018 medallists Scott McLay (Swimming) and Kelvin Cham (Gymnastics), as well as Vicky Glover, who earlier this month became the first Scottish female boxer to win a European Championship medal with bronze at the EUBC U22 Championships in Russia.

Scotland’s most successful athlete in Commonwealth Youth Games history with five medals in the Bahamas, McLay praised the support of the Youth Trust and says it is making a real difference in the pursuit of his sporting ambitions.

“It’s helped a tremendous amount to know that I’ve got that backing from the Team Scotland Youth Trust”, he said. “I’m using the money towards equipment, race entries and travel to competitions, which takes the financial pressure off me and allows me to concentrate fully on just the swimming.

“I’m working towards the World Championships and Tokyo 2020, and Birmingham 2022 is definitely on my list as well. The fact that I’m receiving a PHM Award is just amazing as it shows that my hard work is noticed and, with this support, I’ll continue to do the sport I love to achieve my dreams.”

This year has also seen para-sport athletes recognised for the first time, with European para-athletics Championships silver medallist Ross Patterson and aspiring Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games archer, Cameron Radigan, receiving awards.

Joining the celebration alongside the current crop of rising stars and past recipients of the PHM Athlete Award were members of Scotland’s first Commonwealth Youth Games team, in recognition of the instrumental role the Team Scotland Youth Trust played in the creation of this event.

The inaugural Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Edinburgh in August 2000 with the aim of bridging the gap between young athletes competing in their own sports specific events and the often daunting first experience of a senior multi-sport Games. From this beginning the concept has grown to become a truly global event with more than 1000 athletes from 64 nations competing at the most recent Games in 2017.

Completing the celebrations were members of the Victoria 1994 Commonwealth Games team, who benefitted from an individual financial award from the Youth Trust to each athlete selected for those Games, in one of the earliest links between the Youth Trust and a Games team.

Chair of the Team Scotland Youth Trust, a double gold medallist in swimming from Melbourne 2006, Caitlin McClatchey, said: “From initiating global events like the Commonwealth Youth Games, to showing belief in aspiring athletes looking to make their mark, the Team Scotland Youth Trust has made a huge difference in helping young athletes to realise their sporting ambitions. It has been fantastic to see the difference this support is making for our current rising stars and I’m confident that the Youth Trust will continue to support the development of Commonwealth and Olympic medallists for many years to come.”

All funds are generated from donations and fundraising events with the annual Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards event being the major focus. As the Youth Trust celebrates 30 years a target of £30,000 has been set to be raised by the next Commonwealth Youth Games in 2021 to help fund future generations of athletes.

Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games fencer, Alexander Leckie (known as Sandy) won two gold and two silver medals for Scotland over three successive Games. Born in Watford to two proud Scottish parents – his father from Hamilton and his mother from New Pitsligo in Aberdeenshire – he never felt anything other than Scottish. His brother George however opted to compete for England and the pair did not hold back when it came to international competition!

Sandy was a member of Scotland’s first full team of fencers at the Cardiff 1958, but it was four years later in Perth that he really made his mark. He had already made the first of his three Olympic appearances, as Great Britain’s youngest fencer at the Rome 1960 Games, by the time he took to the piste in Perth and he came into the Games as the favourite for the Men’s Individual Foil title. He delivered on that billing, winning Scotland’s first and only Fencing gold to date and taking the title ahead of 1959 World Foil champion Allan Jay to become the first fencer from outside England ever to win this event.

His hopes of retaining his Foil title were dashed however, when he sustained a bad gash on his knee during a preliminary round of the competition. Characteristically Leckie chose to ignore his wound and the following week, with stitches still in his knee and his leg heavily strapped, he competed in the individual Sabre event. His injury slowed him down badly, but remarkably he still managed to win silver to become the first Scottish fencer ever to take a second Commonwealth medal.

Chosen as Scotland’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer for the Edinburgh 1970 Games, he was determined to give a captain’s performance. He did just that, putting himself back on the top step of podium with gold in the Individual Sabre event. Having reached the final pool of six fencers, he showed his mastery of the sport by winning every single one of his contests to take overall victory.

He completed his medal haul with silver in the Sabre Team Event alongside Gordon Wiles and Anthony Mitchell. With two gold and two silver medals he is Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games fencer, contributing exactly half of the sport’s medal tally in its 20 year inclusion in the Games.

Eight times British Champion, with three titles in Foil and five in Sabre, Sandy competed in individual and team sabre at three consecutive Olympic Games: Rome in 1960; Tokyo in 1964 where he also contested individual and team foil; and Mexico City in 1968. His best result came in his last Games where he finished 7^th in the Men’s Sabre Team Event.

Sandy’s involvement with the Commonwealth Games did not end with his competitive career. He was again part of the Games in Edinburgh in 1986 as part of the final stage of the Queen’s Baton Relay, running into the stadium behind baton bearer Allan Wells. Glasgow 2014 once again saw him carrying the Queen’s Baton, this time through Aberdeenshire where he spent part of his childhood.

Team Scotland was represented at the 2019 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey by Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 Athletics medallist Mark Dry. He gives us a glimpse behind the scenes and explains what occasions like these mean in his own words:

It was a crisp Monday morning on the 11^th of March, and instead of short shorts and a ten-minute drive to the track to train, I got to don my kilt once again and set sail from port Loughborough on a different set of tracks. Today it was a train to London, to hang with the Royals and try not to get in trouble.

Okay, it was a little more formal than that, I was bestowed the honour of representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey and (not for the first time!) was the only man in kilt and tracksuit. I was joined by athletes from England, Northern Ireland and Wales in the procession down the aisle to commemorate this special day, bringing together all 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

After the deep regret of not taking an extra layer, after the morning sun deceived me into thinking it was going to be a warm day, and the usual awful patter from passers by saying “check that guy wearing a skirt”, “Do you think he’s from Scotland?” (queue slow sarcastic clap) ….. I made it to London, which is apparently the windiest place on earth.  After killing some time watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and a lap of St James Park we headed to the Abbey to meet and greet with schoolchildren from all around the country. After keeping them entertained with some ‘guess which sport we all do?’, it looks like I may have a future as a wrestler! Ha-ha!

It truly is an honour to represent your country in any form and walking into such a prestigious and beautiful building, wearing a kilt as the sole Scotsman, was extremely special and something I’ll never forget.  You really do get a feeling of being somewhere special with such beautiful architecture, high arches, all the stained glass and everything you look at flooded with history and tradition.  As the room filled, the flustered ushers flapped to get everyone in place like clockwork and stick to TV times, just as we are so accustomed to at major championships – I felt their pain!

Then away we went down the aisle proudly representing our part of the Commonwealth Games, which was such a huge success in 2018.  Following us was the arrival of the Queen and the Royal Family and an amazing service filled with music and dance from across the Commonwealth nations. In the acoustics of Westminster Abbey this sounded incredibly haunting, especially an amazing performance by William Barton on the Didgeridoo!

All in all, an amazing day and nothing but positivity from everyone there and it was awesome to see real excitement from the younger generation. I’m far from finished in this sport, though the road has been rough. It’s moments like these and putting on my Scotland vest at Commonwealth Games that really do stay with you and make me strive to push forward to see more occasions like this for my country.

Make the most of every opportunity that comes your way and fight like hell to keep them lit!

Scottish Fencing has a proud history at the Commonwealth Games, regularly contributing to Team Scotland’s medal tally during the sport’s 20 year inclusion on the programme. From ranking as Scotland’s second most successful sport behind Athletics at Edinburgh 1970 to historic first performances, here are just some of the highlights of Scotland’s participation in Commonwealth Games Fencing.

Perth 1962 – Scotland’s First Fencing Gold

Fencing made its Games debut in 1950 where Scotland was represented by just one man – Colonel Usher in the Epee event. Subsequent Games saw the team grow in number, including women for the first time in 1958. By 1962 Scotland had a star in Sandy Leckie, a member of that 1958 team and already an Olympian by the time he took to the piste in Perth. He came into the Games as the favourite for the Men’s Individual Foil title and delivered on that billing, winning Scotland’s first and only Fencing gold to date.

Leckie took the title ahead of 1959 World Foil champion Allan Jay to become the first fencer from outside England ever to win this event. Three medals over the next two Games make him Scotland’s top Games fencer of all time. J. A. King was Scotland’s other representative at these Games, finishing 8th in the Individual Epee event with two wins to his credit.

Kingston 1966 – First Fencing Repeat Medallist

Leckie’s hopes of retaining his Foil title were dashed when he sustained a bad gash on his right knee during a preliminary round of the competition. Characteristically Leckie chose to ignore his wound and the following week, with stitches still in his knee and his leg heavily strapped, he competed in the individual Sabre event. His injury slowed him down badly, but remarkably he still managed to win a silver medal to become Scotland’s first  repeat medallist in the sport. Scotland also took bronze in the Men’s Foil Team Event. The team of George Sandor, Joseph Rorke and Robert Wilson finished behind England and Australia to win Scottish Fencing’s first ever team event medal. The same trio narrowly missed out on a second medal in the Epee Team Event, finishing 4th, while Leckie teamed up with Sandor and Wilson for a 5th place finish in the Sabre Team Event.

Edinburgh 1970 – Highest Medal Count

With a total of five medals, Edinburgh 1970 was by far the most successful Games for Scottish fencers. Sandy Leckie was again on the podium, once more returning to the top step. Fencing in front of a passionate home crowd he won gold in the Individual Sabre event with a series of superb performances. Having reached the final pool of six fencers, he showed his mastery of the sport by winning every single one of his contests to take overall victory.

Scotland also won three team silver medals, one coming from Leckie alongside Gordon Wiles and Anthony Mitchell in the Sabre event, the second from the Men’s Epee team of Derek Russell, George Sandor and Ian Hunter and the third from the Women’s Foil team of Judith Bain, Susan Youngs and Barbara Williams. Susan Youngs also took bronze in the Individual Foil to become Scotland’s first and only female individual medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

These of course are just some of the highlights across the 20 years of Fencing’s involvement at the Commonwealth Games. Since 1974, and the advent of the Commonwealth Fencing Championships, Scotland have gone on to further medal success with a total of 68 medals, 10 of them gold.

Click to see Team Scotland’s full Fencing medal record at the Commonwealth Games.

Whilst last featured on the Commonwealth Games programme almost 50 years ago, Scotland has a proud history in Fencing, which continues to this day with medal success at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships. In the second month of our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, Fencing will be profiled alongside Table Tennis, as we continue to feature each of the 25 sports in which Scotland has competed at the Commonwealth Games.

Look out for all things Fencing on Team Scotland’s website and social channels this month as we delve into the archives for tales of past success and also look ahead to the rising stars of the sport in Scotland.

Fencing at the Commonwealth Games

Fencing was first included in the Commonwealth Games in 1950 and was included in every Games over a 20 year period, with Edinburgh 1970 the last Games for Fencing to date.

Scotland’s Games participation grew over this period, from a single entry in 1950 to a team of eight men and four women at the Edinburgh 1970 Games. Medal success followed with Scottish fencers taking a total of eight medals between 1962 and 1970: two gold, four silver and two bronze. During this time period, men competed in all three disciplines: Foil, Epee and Sabre, while women competed only in the Foil.

Find out more about Fencing in the Commonwealth Games on our dedicated Fencing page.

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Medallists

With two gold and two silver medals for Scotland over three successive Games, Alexander Leckie is Scotland’s top Commonwealth Games fencer and our only gold medallist. He took Foil gold in Perth in 1962, silver in Sabre four years later in Jamaica, and then individual Sabre gold and Team silver in Edinburgh in 1970, the last time Fencing was in the Games. He also represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games.

The Edinburgh 1970 Games were by far Scotland’s most successful in Fencing with five medals won: one gold, three silver and one bronze. Alexander Leckie had won silver in the Men’s Sabre four years earlier, even while hampered by stitches in his knee after sustaining an injury in the opening rounds of the Foil. This time he made it gold, going undefeated in the final pool of six fencers. He also took silver as part of the Men’s Sabre team. Susan Youngs was also a double medallist, winning bronze in the individual Women’s Foil and teaming up with Judith Bain and Barbara Williams to win silver in the Women’s Team event. Scotland’s medal count was rounded out with a silver for the Men’s Epee team.

Team Scotland Fencing Medallists

Youth Games Success

Fencing was included in the first Commonwealth Youth Games, held in Edinburgh in August 2000, with Individual and Team events in Foil contested for both men and women. Scotland won four medals, led by gold in the Women’s Individual event for Liz Wright. There were in fact two medals for Scotland in this event, as Nicola Ramsay took bronze. Liz and Nicola were joined in the Team Event by Tracy McKenzie, with the trio going on to win bronze. The men’s team of Brendan Forrester, Gordon Jamieson and Struan Zawalnyski also took bronze.

Commonwealth Fencing Championships

Since the change of Fencing from a core sport to an optional sport at the Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth Fencing Championships have been held every four years on the same cycle as the Commonwealth Games. First held in 1974, Scotland have enjoyed medal success ever since, including 10 gold. Scotland hosted the Championships at Largs in 2014, finishing third on the medal table with three gold, two silver and five bronze. Individual titles went to Jamie Fitzgerald in the Men’s Foil and Georgina Usher in the Women’s Epee, while the Women’s Sabre team also took gold. Most recently, Chloe Dickson won Foil gold at the 2018 Championships held in Canberra, Australia, also leading the Women’s Foil team to victory.

Scotland at the Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is the only occasion where Scotland gets to compete in a multi-sport event as a nation in its own right and is one of only six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth Games since their inception in Hamilton in 1930. Represented by 15 athletes participating in six sports at those first Games, winning a very creditable 10 medals, Scotland have gone on to win medals at every Games since.

Edinburgh became the first city to hold the Games twice in 1970 and 1986 and also became the first city to host the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Scotland hosted the Games for a third time when Glasgow welcomed athletes and officials to the XXth Commonwealth Games which was held from 23rd July – 3rd August 2014. Team Scotland celebrated their most successful Games in history, winning a total of 53 medals and went on to record their highest overseas medal tally ever at Gold Coast 2018.

Find out more about the Commonwealth Games and Team Scotland’s past success in our Past Games section.

While Table Tennis has only been a Commonwealth Games sport since 2002, Scottish success on the global stage and at the Commonwealth Championships goes back much further.  To round off our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, here are 12 things you might not know about the sport:

1. Table Tennis first appeared on the Commonwealth Games programme at Manchester 2002 and has appeared at each Games since. Originally optional, it has now been made a core sport. It has also made one  appearance at the Commonwealth Youth Games – in 2008 in Pune, India.

2. Singapore top the all-time Commonwealth Games Table Tennis medal table with an incredible 50 medals from five Games. They were the top nation in Table Tennis at every Games until Gold Coast 2018 when India pipped them to that title.

3. Scotland have won three medals at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships: Men’s Singles bronze for Richard Yule in 1973, Women’s Team bronze in 1989 and Men’s Team bronze in 2013, but have yet to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.

4. The Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships began in 1971 and Scotland has hosted the event three times. First in 1979 at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Sports Centre and twice in Glasgow: Kelvin Hall in 1997 and Scotstoun in 2009.

5. Helen Hamilton (nee Elliott) can lay claim to the title of Scotland’s most successful Table Tennis player with seven World Championship medals, including two gold, and 13 consecutive Scottish Open Women’s Singles titles between 1946 and 1958.

6. Table Tennis originated in Victorian England and has been known as whiff-whaff, flim-flam, punch ball, pim-pam and gossima.

7. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was formed in 1926 and now has 226 member associations. It has been an Olympic sport since 1988.

8. The size of the ball was changed from 38mm to 40mm after the 2000 Olympic Games so that spectators could see the ball clearly on TV, effectively slowing the game down.

9. Table Tennis is the most popular indoor sport in the world with over 10 million players competing in sanctioned tournaments each year.

10. Despite Table Tennis sometime being referred to as Ping-Pong, Ping-Pong is actually a different sport. One major difference is that while Table Tennis bats have rubber on them, Ping-Pong bats have sandpaper instead.

11. Table Tennis balls are not actually hollow- they are pressurised with gas inside.

12. The Soviet Union banned the sport from 1930 to 1950 as they declared it was harmful to the eyes!

Vicky Glover claimed a historic bronze medal at the European U22 Championships, Scotland’s first ever at European level in women’s boxing, as the Scottish team returned home with two medals from three boxers.

One of Scotland’s first female representatives at both the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, Vicky continued to blaze a trail with a series of composed performances through the rounds. Bronze was assured after a unanimous win over Latvia’s Amanda Millere in the quarter-finals, setting up a semi-final boat against England’s Ellie Scotney. In the end Scotney proved too much, taking the win on points, but Vicky returned to Scotland rightly proud of her achievements.

“Delighted to be part of Boxing Scotland history, winning our first ever female international medal,” she wrote on Instagram.

“Wanted gold but we are getting closer each time. Lost to the better boxer today, no excuses, gave my all, really enjoyed the bout and had a great experience. As always a massive thanks to Boxing Scotland for the opportunity and for getting me where I am, and to my club coaches and team at Forgewood for all the time and effort spent on me.”

Scotland’s second medal came in the Men’s Middleweight event as Sean Lazzerini, former Commonwealth Youth Games champion and Gold Coast 2018 competitor, triumphed over Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Armenian opposition to reach the final. There he met Aleksei Semykin of Russia who proved the eventual winner of a scrappy contest with few clean punches landed on either side. Silver for Sean and another major championship medal to add to his collection.

Tyler Jolly went close to making it three medals from three boxers with a close split decision going against him in the Welterweight quarter-finals. The 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist stepped up to U22 level and acquitted himself well against older opposition with a decisive win over his Polish opening round opponent.

Team Scotland swimmers and divers aiming for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Game can look forward to competing in a brand new facility, after plans for the £60m Sandwell Aquatics Centre were given the green light.

The only new venue to be built for the Games, it will include a 50m Olympic-sized competition swimming pool, 25m diving pool and studio pool. The leisure centre will have 1,000 permanent spectator seats with additional seating to be added on a temporary basis for the Games to bring the capacity up to 5,000.

After its role as a Games venue, the centre will continue to provide sporting facilities for the local community and will offer a dry-dive facility, 108-station gym, 25-station ladies-only gym, three activity studios, an eight-court sports hall, indoor cycling studio and sauna/steam room and café.

The Londonderry Playing Fields site, which features an urban park, will also have a football pitch with new changing facilities, children’s play area and on-site parking for the centre.

Cllr Bill Gavan, cabinet member for leisure and Commonwealth Games, speaking after councillors passed the plans, said: “This is a very exciting moment for us. We are very excited to have the opportunity to host the diving and swimming competitions in Sandwell for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This will be a spectacular event and we are looking forward to being part of the Games.

“The centre will provide Sandwell with the opportunity to host a sporting event of international significance and leave a legacy which will give local people access to a world-class leisure facility for generations to come.”

Aquatics was Team Scotland’s top sport at Gold Coast 2018 in terms of medals won with 11 – 2 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze – from 12 athletes. Duncan Scott became Scotland’s most successful athlete at a single Games with six medals in the pool, while James Heatly won Scotland’s first Diving medal since his grandfather Sir Peter Heatly in 1958 and Grace Reid swiftly followed up with victory in the 1m Springboard to win Scotland’s first gold in the sport for 60 years and a first ever female Diving medal.

The Sandwell Aquatics Centre could become the venue for even more Scottish success in the pool come Birmingham 2022.